political thriller analysis

Political - Conventions
:Threat set against a backdrop of power struggle.
:Plots are designed to illustrate a possible power shift or give power to someone.
:Opposing characters will try and prevent this person from gaining the power.
:Two sets of characters - ranked by authority.
:Often spans many conventions.

Conventions Shown

The power struggle shown during the film is that between the Sierra Leone government and the suffering rebels, the threat shown is that one of the lead characters has had his son kidnapped due to the power struggle between the rebels and the government over diamonds, this also shows the enigma of the character as he does not want his son to be hurt.

The two different sets of characters are Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) who spends his time fighting in Sierra Leone over the diamonds eventually dieing after conflict, and Simmons (Micheal Sheen) who is a deputy businness man in london who pays Archer to aquire and deliver the diamonds while in no fighting at all.

The government are trying to prevent the rebels from gaining power as they fight over the diamonds, as the diamonds are main money income for Sierra Leone so whoever makes and sells more diamonds gets more money and so will eventually take power.

The plot used at the beginning where the rebels raid the village and kill or injure the civillians to make sure they don't vote in the elections, and also when the rebels attack and try to take over Sierra Leone city shows a possible power shift between the rebels and the government.

The majority of the story takes place in Sierra Leone, but in many different locations from cities to deep jungles, before finally moving to London at the end.